The present invention relates to a device for distributing articles over a moving surface, comprising positioning means extending obliquely with respect to the direction of movement of said moving surface and guiding said articles, said positioning means comprising a moving driven belt, guided around a roller close to the free end, for said articles, the direction of movement of said belt having a component that corresponds to the direction of movement of said moving surface and said belt being able to be moved in a direction having a component perpendicular to the direction of movement of said moving surface into a position in which at least one article on said moving surface can still be moved along the free end of the belt.
A device of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,572 A.
Devices of this type are used for placing articles on a conveyor belt in the transverse direction in a specific sequence. Such devices are also known by the general term “lane divider”.
In the case of the device described in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,572 an auxiliary conveyor belt extending obliquely with respect to the conveyor belt (lane) is disclosed. The engagement surface of said auxiliary conveyor belt has a component of movement in the direction of movement of the main conveyor belt (lane). The auxiliary conveyor belt is provided with two ends: a free end that is positioned a greater or lesser distance over the main conveyor belt and a fixed end. This auxiliary conveyor belt is able to swing about the fixed end.
It has been found that when transporting articles such as bags of crisps or other articles there is a risk that when the free end is moved into a position in which it extends over a larger portion of the main conveyor belt, the bags are subject to turning around the free end. As a result the movement for displacing the articles in the transverse direction with respect to the main conveyor belt is not obtained as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,236 discloses a set of auxiliary conveyor belts extending obliquely with respect to the main conveyor, which auxiliary conveyor belts are arranged on either side of the main conveyor. These auxiliary conveyor belts can be moved towards one another in a straight line in order thus to “close off” the main conveyor. As a result all articles on the main conveyor are forced to move to a further main conveyor that extends at an angle with respect to the first main conveyor. In this case it is not movement of articles onto the main conveyor that is concerned, but movement of the articles from the main conveyor.